Throwback Done Right | Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition Review

It’s been 8 years since the whereabouts of the original Devil May Cry Gang. Luckily Capcom decided to re-release the Devil May Cry we all know and love with a few new additions. If you played Devil May Cry 4 many years ago and didn’t like the backtracking and level design this game might not be for you, but if you are a fan of Devil May Cry’s combat system step right in. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition includes 3 new playable characters in the mix. Lady, Trish, and Vergil; each with unique moves and cutscenes added to their play throughs. Also the addition of Legendary Dark Knight Mode which can be played with all characters and lets you go through the story with tons more enemies in different placements at a buttery smooth 60fps at 1080p.

Lady and Trish follow the same design as Dante and Nero as they switch off at certain parts of the game. You start off with Lady who’s a much different beast then any other Devil May Cry Character in existence as she is a much slower paced character focused on projectiles and guns. In fact this is a good thing as it gives players fresh feel of environments and enemy layouts.

One thing about DMC4SE is that the combat system is ever evolving and Lady’s Projectile combat can become a huge showcase. Lady is equipped with 3 weapons pistols, shotgun, and the famous Kalina Ann rocket launcher. She also gets a devil arm move similar to that of Nero but called wire shot. Lady does offer some close ranged moves but they are very limiting and I’m kind of suprised as a majority of her projectiles are one-offs and don’t allow much combo variety.

Trish retains most of her fancy moves you’ve seen in Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, I know at this point some are wondering why did I mention Marvel vs Capcom 3. Well Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition core gameplay shares a lot in common with fighting games in timing and techniques it’s definitely, and still is, the peak of character action game combat. Now back to Trish; while having all those moves she feels kind of half-baked. She wields Sparda and fights with her fist for the majority of her attacks.

Her hand guns can’t get upgraded besides having a 3 enemy lock-on rocket launcher, so they are just there to extend your combo gauge or hold a enemy up in the sky. I wish they have gave her more options to trap enemies like the mines she used in Marvel vs Capcom, but none of that made it. Don’t get me wrong Trish does have fancy moves but she truly feels like she is missing something be it weapons or a vast majority of melee attacks.

Last but not least Vergil the most anticipated arrival translates really well into Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition. Vergil also gets a bit more story development than Lady and Trish since it still panders to Nero being his son. A lot of newcomers will love Vergil and, mark my words, his moves are so ridiculously stylized and very easy to do. Vergil retained all his moves and is equipped with Yamato, Beowulf, and Force Edge. Each fully upgradeable and very powerful, Vergil also has a newly added mechanic into his gameplay.

It is called “Concentration” which has 3 levels, you can fill up his “Concentration” by successfully landing and dodging attacks, and grants you stronger and faster attacks. Overall he is definetely my go-to character to play when I just want to mess around in Bloody Palace and just work on combos, since he can get very in-depth with all the tools given to him.

Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition does so many things right, including the price of entry at $24.99 along with the addition of 3 new playable characters and the new Legendary Dark Knight Mode. Visually DMC4SE still holds up in this generation with its very clean picture quality and silky smooth gameplay thanks to the MT Frameworks Engine. One thing that bogs down this release, is the exclusion of an actual training mode or new locales for the new characters. Rest assured Devil May Cry fans the original gameplay experience is all intact and the added bonuses give us hope that Dante will be coming back to us soon.

Reviewed on Playstation 4. Also Available on PC, and Xbox One.

Editor's Rating

Fun Factor–85%

Gameplay–90%

Presentation–85%

Overall Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition is a joy to play especially at the price of $24.99. New players trying out DMC4SE will have a vast majority of content to go through. While longtime fans might be off-put by the level design and story, they will stay for the 3 new characters and the core mechanics.

Jose Estrella

Hey guys! I’m Jose the second half of Dual Pixels and co-host of DPR. I enjoy fighters more than any other genre because I grew up playing them when I was a wee-lad. Looking forward to the future of gaming and more Spider-Man! Come on Sony you can do it.

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